Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota may require offseason surgery on his ankle from an injury he suffered earlier in the season, per football writer Paul Kuharsky.

A source told Kuharsky that the hamstring injury Mariota suffered remains a problem and “it’s complicated by lingering issues with his surgically repaired leg/ankle from 2016, which could require a clean-up procedure after the season.”

Injuries are becoming an issue for the 24-year-old, who missed time and was limited earlier this season with the aforementioned hamstring concerns. A fractured fibula also ended his season early in 2016.

He is still yet to complete a 16-game season since being taken with the No. 2 overall pick in 2015.

Thus far he’s thrown for 2,582 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while rushing for 224 yards and another five scores.

If Mariota were forced to miss time, the Titans have Matt Cassel as the backup, with Brandon Weeden also on the roster. Neither have shown confidence taking snaps.

]]>Charles Barkley On LaVar Ball: ‘He’s Just Exploiting’ His Sonshttp://khtk.com/charles-barkley-lavar-ball-hes-just-exploiting-sons/
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 19:42:01 +0000http://khtk.com/?p=757"He's trying to make money off his kids, and I just feel sadness for those kids..."

While in an interview on ESPN Radio’s Golic & Wingo show on Wednesday, former NBA star and current NBA analyst Charles Barkley took the opportunity to rip on LaVar Ball for exploiting his three sons: Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo.

“Everybody talking about how he might be a good father, this and that. No he’s not. He’s just exploiting his kids. … He’s all about Big Baller Brand. He has no foreseeable talent. He’s trying to make money off his kids, and I just feel sadness for those kids because they’re going to do whatever he tells them to do,” he said. “I just don’t like the guy at all, plain and simple. And don’t tell me he’s a good father. Just because you exploit your kids, trying to make money because you have no talent, that does not make you a good father.”

It’s been a crazy year for the Ball family. It began with the hype for oldest son, Lonzo, while he was playing on the UCLA Bruins basketball team. He was eventually drafted second overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.

In between Lonzo’s fast start into fame, his father was busy promoting their clothing company “Big Baller Brand” and the family’s own reality show.

All through this, LaVar remained a consistently outspoken advocate for his sons and marketer for his brand. His strong takes in the media made him a controversial figure in the process.

LiAngelo, his middle son, was arrested in China for theft last month while playing for UCLA as a freshman.

After being suspended indefinitely by the program, LaVar pulled he and the youngest son, LaMelo, out of school and helped them get signed overseas to play for Lithuanian club Prienu Vytautas.

There’s been debate regarding the decisions LaVar and his family have made and whether he is exploiting his children or simply helping his family maximize the amount of money it could make at the expense of being exploited by other institutions like the NCAA, where players aren’t paid.

Barkley clearly agrees with the former argument.

“I just feel sadness that the media, CNN, ESPN, has given this guy a platform,” he added. “He represents everything that is bad about sports. It’s all about him. I just feel bad for those kids.”

The Oakland Athletics have recently hired Haley Alvarez as the team’s new scouting coordinator, officially becoming the first female evaluator in the franchise’s history.

Alvarez, 24, is the second woman to work in the A’s scouting department and is the first tasked with talent evaluation. Kate Greenthal was an analytics assistant in 2012.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, she’ll help with the A’s draft preparations, input reports into the scouting-report database and also work with assistant general manager/pro scouting Dan Feinstein on the international scouting side.

“It can be difficult at times, but it gives me the motivation and drive to want to do it even more,” Alvarez said. “I’ve been doing this for a while, and everyone has been great. All the teams I’ve been with have been very supportive. I’ve been working a long time to get there, so it lights a fire under me if people say I can’t do it.”

Alvarez is a California native, growing up in Ross. The University of Virginia graduate began her journey with the A’s two years ago and eventually became sponsored by them for scout school.

In 2016, she was an amateur scouting intern with the Red Sox before working for the Reds this past year. While in Cincinnati, she did amateur scouting work and helped implement some sports-science technologies.

]]>Las Vegas Claims F Ryan Carpenter Off Waivers From Sharkshttp://khtk.com/las-vegas-claims-f-ryan-carpenter-off-waivers-sharks/
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 18:54:15 +0000http://khtk.com/?p=749Carpenter played 16 games this season for the Sharks and has only recorded one assist.

According to LeBrun, Vegas eyed him out last year as a player of interest during expansion draft scouting but the Sharks locked him.

The move was done to possibly free up space on their active roster. Paul Martin, who is currently completing a two-week conditioning stint with the Barracuda, is expected to return to the Sharks’ active roster by the end of the year.

Carpenter signed a two-year contract with the Sharks in June of this year after two seasons between the Sharks and their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. After re-signing, he was among the forwards protected by the Sharks in the Vegas expansion draft.

He played 16 games this season for the Sharks and has only recorded one assist in that time.

]]>A Snowy Super Bowl – The Drive – 12/13/17http://khtk.com/snowy-super-bowl-drive-121317/
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 17:08:03 +0000http://khtk.com/?p=735Hour 1 Dave goes over the Kings win over the Suns, and looks at some of the individual performances from the game. He also analyzes Willie Cauley-Stein’s postgame comments. Hour 2 Dave considers what a Super Bowl in the snow may be like, and looks at the NFL playoff picture heading into Week 15. …

Dave takes calls on the Kings, the direction of their future and the development of De’Aaron Fox and the other young players. He also discusses the eccentric welcome the Ball family received in Lithuania.

CBS Sportsreports that the Indiana Pacers are going to host the 2021 All-Star Game. Indiana has not hosted since 1985. The 2021 All-Star Game will be the first for the team’s current arena, Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

]]>The Ceiling Is The Roof: The Lo-Down – 12/13http://khtk.com/ceiling-roof-lo-1213/
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 16:00:25 +0000http://khtk.com/?p=763On the Wednesday edition of the Lo-Down the guys cover everything from the NFL, NBA, and the Sacramento Kings. All that and more on the Lo-Down exclusively on Sports 1140.

In the first hour of the Lo-Down Damien and Jason started the show talking about the Kings win last night against the Suns, and what the future of this team is with their rookies. They talked about some of the other games last night in the NBA, and how so many teams in the league are around or below .500 for the season. All that and more on the Lo-Down exclusively on Sports 1140.

In the second hour of the Lo-Down the guys broke down the AFC with “One Small Thought.” They also talked about the strange story about a Saints fan suing the team over player protests. All that and more on the Lo-Down exclusively on Sports 1140.

In the final hour of the Lo-Down Sam Amick, KHTK NBA Insider/USA Today, joins the show to break down the NBA. They also talked about the possibility of Manny Machado joining the Yankees, and if they are trying to “Buy a Championship”? The guys finished the show talking about the newest members of the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame. All that and more on the Lo-Down exclusively on Sports 1140.

Sacramento Republic FC is exercising contract options on five players.

Their website says that Danny Barrera, Luis Espino, Elliott Hord, Wilson Kneeshaw, and Carlos Rodriguez will be returning for the 2018 season.

Coach Paul Buckle released the following statement:

“By exercising these options, we set a foundation as we look towards the 2018 season. All five of these players have shown us what they are capable of doing on the pitch and we look forward to seeing their potential fully realized in this upcoming season.”